Chinese authorities are reportedly stepping up their counter-terrorism efforts.

According to the sources in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang, officials have begun collecting copies of the Islamic holy book Quran, as well as the related items, particularly the ones originating from Saudi Arabia, which are said to be inciting the people to commit acts of terrorism.

Copies of Quran and the related items are ordered to be handed over to authorities.

In addition, the authorities began to closely monitor activities on WeChat, China’s most popular social media app.

According to local officials, Xinjiang authorities earlier this year, began removing all editions of the Quran published more than five years ago due to extremist content being discovered in these copies.

The books were taken as part of the “Three Illegals and One Item” campaign that was underway in Xinjiang, and aimed against the illegal religious extremist materials, mostly in possession of the Uyghur Muslims.

The operation bans all sorts of illegal religious ceremonies and teachings, as well as the items commonly used to stage terror attacks.

In the past several years, large number of the Uyghurs have gone to Syria. Only in the province of Idleb, there are now about 3,500 Uyghur colonists. Majority of them came from the northwestern Chinese province of Xinjiang.